


cups of tea and moonlit walks

by kyjr



Category: Johnny's Entertainment, KAT-TUN (Band)
Genre: AU, Adventure, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-16
Updated: 2013-10-16
Packaged: 2017-12-29 14:09:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1006342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyjr/pseuds/kyjr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p> Nakamaru never thought that magic would find him, until one day it did.</p>
            </blockquote>





	cups of tea and moonlit walks

**Author's Note:**

> Written with [](http://paint-asmile.livejournal.com/profile)[ **paint_asmile**](http://paint-asmile.livejournal.com/)for [](http://je-devilorangel.livejournal.com/profile)[**je_devilorangel**](http://je-devilorangel.livejournal.com/). Finally got around to reposting it. Thanks to our beta. Originally posted [here.](http://je-devilorangel.livejournal.com/31053.html) 

 

 

  
**Ueda Tatsuya** ; Sparking: _Ano kirei na niji wo koete yuketara nani ga mieru ka na - If we went beyond that beautiful rainbow, what would we see?_  


 

 

Nakamaru Yuichi was a simple waiter. Nothing particularly interesting happened in his life, and he rather liked it that way. He would get up at eight, have breakfast, shower, and be at work in time for his nine o’clock start. He was never late, always impeccably groomed, and was good at his job.

So, it came as a very big surprise to him when at nine o’clock, instead of the usual morning crowd, in walked a man that looked to be about half a head shorter than him. He had a tuft of fluffy looking black hair on top of his head and he seemed to be looking for someone, the cloak he wore swishing every time he turned around.

Nakamaru walked up to him, wanting to see if there was anything he could do to help. Just then, the stranger turned around, caught his eye and his face immediately lit up. Reaching out a hand, he caught Nakamaru’s wrist and smiled, “Yes, I suppose you will do.”

“I-- what?” Nakamaru managed to stutter before he was pulled out of the cafe by the man.

“You,” he said, dragging Nakamaru down the street. “You will have to do.”

“What are you talking about--”

“My name’s Ueda; I’m looking for something and I need you to help me,” the man said, pausing and turning to look at Nakamaru. “Happy now?”

“Well, not really--”

“Why did I pick a stupid one?” the man - Ueda - muttered to himself as he pulled Nakamaru behind him. Nakamaru frowned a little.

“Hey--”

Ueda leaned forward and clasped a hand on Nakamaru’s shoulder, “Listen, this is a matter of life and death I’m talking about here. So do you want to help me look for it or do you want to return to that boring life of yours?”

“I think I need some time to--”

“Okay, I think we should head east first.” Ueda took out a compass from his pocket and studied it. “I think it’s this way...”

“Listen to me!” Nakamaru shouted, more than a little surprised at what he had just done. It seemed like Ueda was not expecting that either as he slowly looked up from the compass and blinked at Nakamaru. “I mean... Stop interrupting me.”

“I wasn’t interrupting you, was I?”

Nakamaru stared. “Who are you and what do you want with me?” he asked, trying to work his wrist out of Ueda’s grip.

“I’ve already said that my name is Ueda, and that I need you to come with me--”

“You’re a complete stranger!” Nakamaru said, exasperated. “I don’t know who you are!”

Ueda looked at him like he was stupid. “I told you. My name is Ueda. Ueda Tatsuya.”

“Well, okay. Hi Ueda.” Nakamaru held a hand out in front of him. “I’m--”

“You’re Nakamaru Yuichi, 28 years old and you work as a waiter in a cafe. Yes, nice to meet you too.”

“Yes, but how did you...” Had they met before?

Ueda gave Nakamaru a little wink as he took his hand. “There’s very little I do not know.”

If so, then... “Why do you need me to help you look for... whatever you’re looking for?”

“I said that there is _very little_ I do not know. I’m not a god, you know, I can’t know everything.” Ueda released his hand and gave a long suffering sigh, as if wondering to himself why Nakamaru could not figure that out on his own.

And with that, Nakamaru found himself with a bag of his belongings slung over his shoulder, following Ueda as he led them forward - ‘east’, he had said. It had been a bit surprising when the man had presented him the bag, almost as an afterthought, but Ueda had pressed it into Nakamaru’s hands and continued on his way.

Nakamaru wondered if Ueda was always like this.

 

  
***

  
It had only been a day and Nakamaru was already wishing he could go home. Ueda seemed to be having trouble reading the map he had brought along with him – which was probably due to the fact that he was reading it upside down but Ueda refused to listen to him when he tried to correct the guy. _‘I can do this!’_. The man had also refused to stop whenever Nakamaru complained about how his feet were killing him and how Ueda should just let him die here, that he couldn’t take anymore of this.

“Shush,” Ueda said as he frowned at the map, turning it left and right and tilting his head to try to read it better. It was still upside down but Nakamaru had long stopped trying to help. “We’re almost there. The portal should be close.”

“Wait-- Portal--?”

“Yes,” Ueda muttered, the map now up in the air as he stared at it, as if the different angle could help him read it better. “We need to get to the portal to-- Oh, there it is,” he said happily, lowering the map and pointing at a spot on the paper. “Now, how do we get there...”

Nakamaru sighed as Ueda drew a line with his finger from the spot where he thought they were to the place where he thought they were going. His face lit up as he found the right path, and then Nakamaru was dragged again, his wrist firmly in Ueda’s grip as the other led the way.

He was pulled through throngs of people, made to squeeze through narrow passageways and dirty back alleys. After what had to be the hundredth turn they’d made, they finally stopped at an empty alleyway. There was graffiti sprayed onto every wall around them and if you excluded all the little critters that were scuttling here and there, an old dumpster beside a grimy wall was the only thing there besides them.

“This is it.” Ueda announced with a big smug smile on his face, as if proud that he had managed to lead them here.

“Errr…” Nakamaru asked. “Where are we?” Ueda must have made a mistake, this could not be it.

Raising an eyebrow, Ueda turned to him and said, “We’re at the Portal, of course.”

Before Nakamaru could ask what the Portal was - yet again - Ueda took his hands in his own and closed his eyes, eyebrows knitting together as he concentrated. “What’re you doing?” Nakamaru whispered. He wasn’t sure why he had lowered his voice, but the whole situation felt rather secretive, what with Ueda muttering under his voice like that.

And then there was a slight wind creeping up on them, Ueda’s cloak waving in the breeze. It blew faster and faster until Nakamaru had to shut his eyes against the wind. Ueda was still murmuring, his voice almost getting lost in the wind, and suddenly it felt like Nakamaru was flying, his head spinning, but he refused to open his eyes.

It was only after the wind calmed down that Nakamaru dared to open his eyes again. He slowly opened them and felt his heart skip a beat or two as he took in the forest Ueda had took them to.

He remembered his sisters reading him fairytales to bed despite him wanting them to read him something a little more manly, and this forest in front of him, this forest was everything he had pictured those fairytale forests to be, and more.

The leaves growing off the trees had a beautiful sheen to them that seemed to reflect whatever light shined on them. The flowers that bloomed off the trees were all screamingly colourful, their petals glinting like diamonds under the sun. It was indeed beautiful, but Nakamaru could not fight off the feeling that they weren’t real. That this really was a fairytale he had somehow gotten himself into.

“Now, where are we?” he managed to ask when he got past the initial shock of finding himself in a forest.

“Somewhere,” Ueda answered cryptically, already walking through the forest. Nakamaru followed, a little slower, raising his hands to the ethereal leaves and tracing their edges with his fingers. His mind was whirling, unanswered questions and possible magic and _Ueda_ spinning about his head and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground, blinking his eyes open to see Ueda crouching above him.

“Are you okay?” Ueda asked, poking him between the eyes.

“Yes... Yes, I think so,” Nakamaru answered, sitting up and accepting the water that Ueda offered. “What happened?”

“It all got too much for you, I think,” Ueda said, shrugging.

“I’m in a goddamned crystal forest with a goddamned _magician_ ,” Nakamaru muttered, but Ueda just laughed and patted him on the shoulder, getting up on his feet.

“You keep telling yourself that,” he chuckled, “and here.”

Nakamaru accepted the hand Ueda held out to him and dusted off leaves that had fallen onto him as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

Magicians, teleportations and fairytale-like forests. No, who was he kidding? That would never make sense to him.

“What are you doing over there?” Ueda called, he was already about ten trees in front of him. “Hurry up!”

Grumbling as he tightened his grip on his backpack - Ueda was the one who had pulled him along on this journey, the least he could do was be a little friendlier - Maru hastened his steps till he was only a few footsteps behind Ueda.

“So can you tell me where we’re going?” He asked; he could see Ueda fighting another sigh as he once again tried to consult his map. Which was still upside down.

“You sure do ask a lot of questions, don’t you?”

“I just want to know what I’ve gotten myself into,” Nakamaru said, but Ueda was no longer paying any attention, his face lighting up as he turned his head to the side and saw something on the map.

“It must be this way,” he murmured to himself, taking one last look at the paper in front of him before folding it away. “Come on, Nakamaru.”

And so Nakamaru followed.

They had been walking for what seemed like hours - although the watch on Nakamaru’s wrist was saying it had only been one - when Ueda stopped and peered through the trees. “We’re here,” he said happily, grinning at Nakamaru. “Finally.”

‘Here’ was a small town, tucked away in a corner of the forest. Trees had been cleared to make way for square paddocks, with cows, sheep and two stocky horses grazing within their boundaries. The houses were small, made of brick and looking very welcoming. There seemed to be a path through the town, leading into the forest, and Nakamaru briefly wondered why they hadn’t taken that route, before Ueda was moving again, climbing over a rail and into the horses’ paddock.

“Wha-- Ueda!” Nakamaru hissed, wide-eyed. “Get out of there!”

“No, I’m fine,” Ueda said. “Hurry up and join me.”

“Are we even allowed in here?” Nakamaru asked as he watched Ueda leap off the rail and land deftly onto the grass.

“The landlord of this place is an old friend of mine, so we’ll be fine. Stop worrying.”

Nakamaru figured that it was affirmation enough and so he climbed over as well, hurrying to catch up with Ueda who was already knocking on the small wooden door.

Seconds later, the door opened and there stood a man that looked just a few years younger than them. His hair was pretty well coiffed and with the denim vest he was sporting over his white tee shirt, he looked like he had came right off a fashion runway.

“Ueda!” The man’s face burst into a bright grin. “It’s been so long, what’d you come here for?”

From where he was standing behind the man, he could see Ueda returning the grin as he crossed his arms and tried to look affronted. “Kame, why do you always assume that I’m here for something? Can’t I just be visiting a dear friend of mine?”

“No, because you never do that. By the way, come in!” The man called Kame took a step back, giving them enough space to enter.

Bringing out a tray with cups full of tea, he passed them around and Nakamaru kindly thanked the man, taking a small sip before choking on it. It tasted too sweet, cloying even. “What is this?!”

“It’s Bristletongue Root, commonly used to make candies and dessert. I on the other hand, like to brew tea with them. It’s good, isn’t it?” Kame leaned in and took Nakamaru’s hand into his, looking entirely too excited when they were just talking about plant roots.

Nakamaru decided that it was best not to say that he could feel cavities forming on his teeth and simply nodded; Kame’s smile only grew brighter.

Satisfied with Nakamaru’s answer, Kame turned to Ueda and asked, “So, mind telling me what is it you’re looking for?”

“Nakamaru and I-- this is Nakamaru, by the way,” Ueda said, pointing over to Nakamaru.

“Hello,” he said, even though he had been sitting in that armchair for the past fifteen minutes, and Kame smiled widely over his teacup. Nakamaru grimaced a little. The sweetness in his mouth just wouldn’t go away.

“Anyway,” Ueda continued, after a sip of his own tea, “Do you have any angel hawkweed left? I know you used to have it, but--”

Kame was shaking his head, lowering his cup. “I’m afraid I don’t, Ueda,” he said. “If you had asked me the same question two weeks ago...”

Ueda sighed. “Yeah. It’s okay, I’m sure I’ll find it somewhere,” he smiled. Nakamaru looked between the two, confused.

“What’s going on?” he asked, but they ignored him.

“Do you happen to know where I can find it? I’ve been looking for it for so long but it is, after all, a rare herb and a seasonal one at that.” Ueda took another sip of his tea and to Nakamaru’s amazement, sighed in what seemed to be bliss.

He actually liked it.

Maybe it was a cultural thing, Maru thought.

Kame nodded and frowned, “Maybe you can try with Koki? With the many herbs he grows to nurse all those animals of his, there should be some Angel Hawkweed in there somewhere.”

Nakamaru slouched further into his chair as he slowly turned to look from Kame to Ueda. Nothing any of them said made sense and that was amazing seeing as, with everything that happened before, a conversation should not be that hard to understand.

“Koki,” Ueda repeated, setting his tea down. “Hmm.”

“Yeah,” Kame said, standing up and collecting their cups. “I haven’t spoken to him in a while - we’re pretty isolated out here - but you know he’ll do everything he can to help.”

Nakamaru’s curiosity peaked as he saw a gentle smile pass over Ueda’s face. “Yeah. I know.”

“You two are staying over tonight, right?” Kame called from the kitchen, and Nakamaru looked over to Ueda, who was nodding.

“Yeah, the sun’s going to set soon, and you know I don’t like teleporting in the dark,” he said casually.

“I’ll set you two up in the spare room.”

Ueda seemed to disappear while Nakamaru helped Kame make the beds for the night. When Nakamaru asked where Ueda had gone, Kame just shrugged, saying that Ueda just did what he wanted when he wanted. Nakamaru nodded. He could understand that.

When everything was done (and Kamenashi had hit him repeatedly until he stopped trying to help with dinner), he made his way outside, where he finally found Ueda.

He was sitting on the back step, watching the horses with a soft look in his eyes. One of the horses - the chestnut one - slowly made its way over to them, a low rumble sounding in its throat as she it neared.

“She’s mine,” Ueda said, and Nakamaru jumped. He hadn’t realised Ueda knew he was there. He sat down next to him, watching the animal with careful eyes. Ueda held out a hand and the horse moved closer, her tail swishing as she recognised who he was. “She’s seen many things,” Ueda continued. “So many things. She’s been across the world in a day; eaten from the hands of people you’ve only ever seen in history books. She’s one amazing animal.”

Nakamaru found himself entranced. Ueda’s face lit up with a soft smile as the horse lowered her head and made a small sound - it sounded happy, Nakamaru thought - and Ueda placed his hand on her cheek.

“That’s my girl.”

“She’s really pretty.” Nakamaru whispered. It was true; with the last few rays of sunlight glinting off her brown coat, she really did look like an image from heaven.

“She’s beautiful.” Ueda reiterated. Nakamaru continued staring at Ueda’s face, quietly watching as the man took out the carrots he had been holding and slowly fed them to his horse.

Somewhere in the back of Nakamaru’s mind, as he caught another one of Ueda’s smile when the horse tried to nuzzle him, he thought “And you are too.”

  
***

  
It was not long before the sun had set and Kame had insisted Ueda’s horse should be brought back to the paddock to sleep. He had also assured them that dinner would not take long and for them to make themselves at home, which was followed by an awkward moment of silence as they tried to think of what they could do to pass the time.

“I wouldn’t mind giving you a tour around the town, although most shops should be closed by now.” Ueda suggested and Nakamaru agreed, seeing as they still had about an hour to spare before dinner would be ready.

“Okay, lead the way!” Nakamaru pointed towards the gate and Ueda chuckled, walking ahead with Nakamaru trailing behind.

There wasn’t much to the town. There wasn’t much, but it was still so interesting, especially with someone like Ueda to lead them around. He pointed out the strangest things - up there was where he had found a bird nest; over there was where he and Kame had first become friends; this windowsill there was where a ragged old tomcat used to sleep in the mornings.

“He’s not around anymore though,” Ueda said, hands in his pockets as he walked on. “He moved away.”

They continued through the town, peeking in through the windows of stores. “This is the best place,” Ueda said, as they bent down to peer into another shop. “They sell the greatest candies ever.”

“Really?”

“You have no idea,” Ueda laughed. “Maybe we’ll come back in the morning. If there’s time.”

Nakamaru smiled. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

Ueda stared at the clock hanging on the wall of a nearby pub, “We should be heading back now. Kame should be waiting for us.”

Nakamaru took a look at the clock and was more than a little startled by the time. They had only been strolling through the town for what seemed like half an hour at most but in truth, more than an hour had passed since they had left Kame’s paddock.

“Yes,” Nakamaru muttered. “Kame wouldn’t be happy if we made him wait too long. Let’s go.”

True enough, Kame glared at them the moment they entered the house but it disappeared the moment they tucked into their food.

Nakamaru gave a soft moan at how delicious the buttered potatoes Kame had cooked were. They were really _really_ good and after a whole day of trekking through the woods, he more than appreciated a warm meal in his stomach.

Raising his chopsticks, he stood up a little to pick up the last buttered potato, only to find another pair of chopsticks blocking his. Looking up, he saw that it was Ueda who was staring at him with a look that somewhat translated to, “Back off, or else.”

But Nakamaru wasn’t going to let it go without a fight. Ueda raised an eyebrow at him, batting his chopstick with his own, but Nakamaru stood firm, determined to get that last potato, trying to manoeuvre his chopsticks around Ueda’s in order to knock his off, but suddenly Kame was tutting and leaning over to grab the potato, stuffing it into his mouth.

“You two are like children,” he mumbled around it, but Ueda and Nakamaru just stared wide-eyed at him. “...What?”

“Kame never liked to share,” Ueda grumbled, the hint of a pout on his face as he glared.

Nakamaru gave a soft whine as he stared at the empty plate and dejectedly placed his chopsticks down. It was _really_ a good buttered potato.

Kame patted both of them on the shoulder before he stood up to clear the plates. Walking to the kitchen, he turned to the both of them and grinned, “You know, I can always cook it again next time.”

Ueda pouted, “Who knows when the next time I’ll come here will be?”

“Well, drop by more often then.” Kame replied airily and whistled as he washed the dishes. Nakamaru stood up to help but was immediately chased out of the kitchen by Kame who insisted that guests should not have to help.

After Kame was done with washing the dishes, both he and Ueda sat by the fireplace as they discussed the whereabouts of the Angel Hawkweed. Nakamaru frowned again, wondering what this Angel Hawkweed thing was.

As he sat by the armchair, Nakamaru found himself getting sleepy and could not fight the yawn that came. Kame turned to him looking contrite, “I am so sorry. It’s already this late, you must be tired. I’ll go prepare the beds right now.”

Kame kept a spare room just for guests, Nakamaru found out. It was a cozy room; paintings in beautiful gold frames decorated the deep red walls, while old black and white photographs stood elegantly on the mantelpiece of the fireplace. The fire was lit, throwing wavering shadows across the room and warming the whole place, the crackle of the fire somehow comforting to Nakamaru. There were two beds lying side-by-side, with too many pillows stacked up against the headboards, looking entirely too welcoming.

“Which one do you want?” Ueda asked, but Nakamaru had already fallen face-down onto the nearest bed. “...I guess the other one is mine, then.”

“You’ve guessed right,” Nakamaru mumbled and before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

That night, he dreamt of a large hawk with angel wings landing on the raised arm of a magician whose face was somehow hidden from him.

 

***

  
Nakamaru woke up next morning to two pairs of eyes staring at him; he jumped a little before he realised that it was only Ueda and Kame. He yawned and lazily stretched his arms before blearily getting out of bed and heading towards to toilet to get ready. Ueda was already in his cloak and ready to set off, and Kame was holding a spatula in his right hand.

“Breakfast is waiting for you on the table, by the way.” He heard Kame shout from the bedroom and he waved a hand in reply, even though he knew Kame would not be able to see it.

Kame’s breakfast consisted of three pancakes with a generous serving of syrup. Nakamaru closed his eyes and took a deep whiff; it smelled good. His tummy seemed to agree with him as well, if the groans were any indication. He briefly considered asking Ueda to stay here a little while more, just to sample a bit more of what Kame could cook.

But Ueda was dragging him outside as soon as they finished, his fingers clutching onto Nakamaru’s sleeve. “Bye!” Kame called, hanging out of the front door with the spatula still in his hand and his apron around his waist, “Say hello to Koki for me!”

“Will do!” Ueda shouted back, leading Nakamaru back to the forest they had emerged from the day before. “Stay safe,” he murmured to himself, once Kame was out of earshot.

“I’m sure he will,” Nakamaru replied, feeling like he needed to reassure Ueda. Ueda stopped dead, staring back at Nakamaru for a little before smiling the tiniest of smiles.

“Of course he will,” he said, scrunching his nose up a little and running again. “Of course he will.”

“Where are we going now?” Nakamaru asked, managing to keep pace with Ueda only because of his longer legs.

“We need to get back to the portal,” Ueda answered, casting his eyes about once they found themselves in the forest. “We’re going to see Koki.”

Koki. The name sounded familiar to Nakamaru; he remembered Ueda and Kame saying that name last night when they were discussing about the Angel Hawkweed.

Nakamaru quietly followed behind Ueda. They were walking at a slower pace than before, which gave him the chance to admire the forest they were walking through. After a day of staying here, Nakamaru guessed that he had become more desensitized to everything here. The leaves on the trees looked a little less artificial and more genuine. He could almost smell the fragrances coming from the flowers blooming off the trees, all bright red and yellow and every other colour of the rainbow.

Soon, Nakamaru became too enthralled by the flowers and took no notice to where he was walking till he walked right into Ueda, nearly knocking the guy over.

Nakamaru quickly caught him, his arms shooting around Ueda’s waist and pulling him back. “Are-- are you okay?” Nakamaru asked. “I’m so sorry-- I always do that--”

“I’m fine,” Ueda said, voice lower than normal. He placed a hand on Nakamaru’s wrists, and Nakamaru dropped his arms, but Ueda grabbed them again and held them there.

“What’re y--”

“We’re here, by the way,” Ueda said, looking up at the sky, through the trees. “Yeah. Yeah, we’re here.”

“What’s go--”

The wind was picking up again, whirring around them, rising up until it surrounded them. Nakamaru closed his eyes to the wind, briefly feeling Ueda lean back into him as the wind became stronger, and then his head was spinning, there was this pressure behind his eyes and they were falling, falling down, Ueda’s hands gripping onto his wrists.

They fell together, crashing onto a grassy field. Nakamaru grunted, sitting up and rubbing his nose - he had landed on his face. Ueda ran a hand through his hair, picking out odd dead leaf, and then stood up, looking out at the horizon, a smile blooming on his pretty face.

“There he is.” Ueda said, pointing to a man who was running towards them with his arms outstretched.

“Ueda! You’re back again!” His hair reminded Nakamaru of the poodle his sister had just bought last week. With a bright smile on his face, he enveloped Ueda in a tight hug before letting go and staring at Nakamaru quizzically.

“And who might this be?” The man asked and Ueda coughed a little before pointing to Nakamaru.

“This is Nakamaru. He’s helping me search for something, and this,” he said, turning his finger to point at the other man, “is Koki.”

Nakamaru accepted the hand Koki held out to him but instead of a handshake, he was pulled into a hug. After getting over his initial shock, Nakamaru hugged the guy back and they both let go with a smile on their face.

“Any friend of Ueda’s is a friend of mine.”

Koki was a sweet man, Nakamaru quickly figured out. He was comforting and welcoming and had the warmest smile Nakamaru had ever seen. Ueda couldn’t stop smiling either, even when Koki wrapped an arm around Ueda’s shoulders and pulled him close as they walked.

“How’ve you been, Ueda?” he asked, once they were sitting on his rather small couch. “I was so happy to hear that you were coming.”

“I’m okay,” Ueda answered as Koki set down a plate of cookies for them.

“What about you, Nakamaru?”

Surprised at being addressed, Nakamaru jumped. “Oh. Uhh. I’m fine, thankyou.”

Koki laughed. “I won’t have anyone be polite in this house,” he said, laughter twinkling in his eyes. “Be comfortable! Lay back, kick your shoes off.”

Ueda already had his feet tucked under himself, nursing a cup of tea - with _normal_ tea, this time.

Nakamaru nodded, clutching the teacup in his hand even tighter. “I’m comfortable enough already, thank you very much.”

He heard Ueda snorting from beside him and he turned to shoot him a look. Ueda only rolled his eyes and turned away.

Taking a cookie from his plate, Koki sat down on the couch and asked between bites. “So what are you here for?”

From his side of the couch, Ueda leaned forward and asked, “You’ve heard of the Angel Hawkweed, right? I’m here to ask you if you happen to have any with you.”

And there he goes again with the Angel Hawkweed. “Excuse me—”

“So do you?”

Koki tapped a finger against his chin and pursed his lips. He appeared to be deep in thought for a little while before he gave a soft sigh. “I honestly can’t remember. I grow too many plants to keep track of them all. I’ll go check, meanwhile you two make yourselves at home.”

“Excuse me but what’s the Angel Hawkweed?” Nakamaru asked; actually it might have been more of a shout, before Koki could stand up to clear the empty teacups.

Both Koki and Ueda turned to stare at him. Nakamaru cleared his throat. “...Didn’t I tell you?” Ueda asked, looking thoughtful. Nakamaru shook his head. “I could have sworn I did...”

“Ueda, you forget everything,” Koki laughed. “Angel Hawkweed is a plant. It’s very rare - and really hard to grow. I supposed Ueda needs it for a potion...?” he asked, looking over to Ueda, who nodded.

“Cut it in two and use it in stew,” Ueda sang into his tea. Koki rolled his eyes.

“I don’t know why you always insist on singing that,” he said. “You don’t even cut it.”

“I could if I wanted.”

So Ueda needed it for a potion. What kind of potion? Nakamaru briefly remembered Ueda saying something about their journey being a matter of life and death. Was Ueda sick? Was this plant the only thing to keep him alive?

Sure, Ueda could be annoying at times but he was still a nice guy and Nakamaru did not want to see anything happen to him.

“We have got to find that plant!” Nakamaru announced, shooting up from his chair and turning to look at Koki before he realized both he and Ueda were staring at him as if he had sprouted another head. Coughing a little, he slowly sat back down and stared straight ahead, trying to get a semblance of dignity back.

Nakamaru could hear Koki choking on his laughter as he made his way to his kitchen. To his right, he felt Ueda placing a hand on his shoulders, and he jumped a little. Turning around, he saw that Ueda was smiling and he was momentarily dazed by the twinkle he saw in Ueda’s eyes.

“Thank you, I appreciate that.” Ueda’s smile widened for a second before he went back to his corner of the couch and ordered Koki to get him another cup of tea.

Koki wasn’t going to let them leave that night. “I don’t have any grand guest bedroom like Kame does, but I’d like you to stay,” he said over lunch, staring down at the soup in front of him. “It... well, it gets a little lonely all the way out here, and I really miss you, Ueda.”

Ueda smiled. “Sure.”

Koki’s eyes lit up happily, and he smiled. “Good! I wasn’t going to let you out in the middle of the night, anyway. Who knows what’s out there.”

“I do--”

“Yes I know, Ueda.”

Nakamaru laughed. “How do you know Ueda?” he asked, feeling a little brave. Maybe it was the soup. The soup was quite delicious, making him feel warm inside.

“I think I was about seventeen when we met,” Koki said, tearing into a bread roll. “He just appeared in the middle of the field like you two did today, looking all lost and worse for wear.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, you should have seen him, his hair was all—”

“I think Nakamaru gets the idea Koki.” Ueda interrupted as he took another sip of his soup. Koki coughed a little and went back to his soup.

After lunch, Nakamaru and Ueda were brought to Koki’s herb garden, where they tried to search for the Angel Hawkweed. Or Ueda and Koki tried to search for it since Nakamaru had no idea what it looked like.

Ueda told him to look for a small green herb. Well, that certainly helped narrowing it down a lot. Not.

Whilst they were ruffling through the many herbs, Koki pointed out a few to Nakamaru and he listened, thinking it might come in handy one day.

“That over there is the Blue Knotsbreath. We grind it and mix it with other herbs and that’s what gives us our toothpaste.” Koki said, pointing to a herb that strongly resembled Baby Breath Flower back home.

“And that over there,” Koki pointed to a bright yellow plant with a black pistil sticking out of it, “is the Straight Wasptooth. It’s a very strong aphrodisiac.”

Ueda giggled a little, before Koki gave him a withering look. “...Sorry,” he said, before sighing. “No, I don’t see it here at all, Koki.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” Koki said. “I’m sure I would have known if I were growing it.” Ueda nodded, trailing his hand over the top of the herbs. “Sorry, Ueda.”

“No, it’s fine.” Ueda shook his head. “Really. I’ll go see Junno next. Maybe he’s got something...”

Nakamaru looked up from the strange pink and brown spotted flower he had been inspecting. “Junno?” he asked. Yet another unfamiliar name. Koki nodded.

“Another one of Ueda’s friends. You’ll find them everywhere,” he laughed, and Ueda smiled.

“Not exactly _everywhere_...” Ueda stood up from where he had been crouching over the herbs and dusted himself. “Well, we’ll get going now—”

“But you guys just got here.” Koki whined and was that a pout Nakamaru saw the guy give Ueda?

Ueda paused just as he was reaching the gates of the garden and turned to Nakamaru. It was only after a while that Nakamaru realised Ueda was asking for his opinion and he nodded immediately, as Koki seemed like a fun guy to be with. Plus he had already invited them to stay the night, so it would be rude to refuse the offer.

“Okay then, we’ll stay.” Ueda said as he made his way back to the garden. “So when’s dinner?”

“…It’s only two in the afternoon.”

“But all the searching made me hungry.” Ueda replied to Nakamaru’s comment petulantly and he trailed his hand once again over the herbs.

“You just had lunch!” Nakamaru laughed. Ueda hit him.

Koki paused. “Oh, I just remembered something-- You guys go and have fun, I’ve got to remind one of the workers about that cow that’s about to have a calf.”

Ueda nodded, steering Nakamaru back to the house. “I’ll show you Koki’s little zoo,” he said, affection flooding his features.

“His zoo?”

“Yep.”

Ueda led him to the back of Koki’s house, which was more like an extension made of wood and painted a dark green. “Wow,” was all Nakamaru could say as he stepped into the room, trying to take everything in.

There were cages upon cages of animals, all exotic and strange and making the oddest noises, screeching down at Nakamaru from their places against the wall. Two small dogs ran up to him, yipping excitedly and scratching at his legs - one was black and white and rather stocky; the other a small light brown fluffy thing - and Nakamaru bent down to pet them.

Ueda was pulling a tiny monkey from a cage, a bright smile on his face as it ran up his arm to his shoulder, touching his face with its tiny hands. “Hello again,” Ueda said happily, and it made a strange clicking sound, moving to pull lightly at Ueda’s hair. Ueda laughed lightly.

“Animals seem to love you.” Nakamaru observed, gingerly raising his hand to pet the monkey who was too enamoured with Ueda to notice him.

Ueda’s smile seemed just a little smug as he gently placed the tiny monkey back into its cage and waved it goodbye; then they ventured deeper into Koki’s zoo. “Of course they do.”

Ueda introduced him to many other residents of Koki’s zoo. There was the ferret who started jumping the moment he caught sight of Ueda and the parrot who seemed to take a liking to Nakamaru’s hair, judging by the many times it kept tugging on it with its beak.

By the time Ueda had finished his tour of Koki’s zoo, the sky was already dyed orange by the setting sun and Nakamaru could feel his stomach grumbling a little.

Ueda laughed. “I heard that,” he said, and Nakamaru grimaced.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t apologise,” Ueda replied, pushing him out of the room, “I’m sure Koki’s back already.”

Koki wasn’t, but Ueda just waved a hand when Nakamaru fretted. “Shush,” he tutted, pulling pots and pans out of the cupboards in Koki’s kitchen. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

“But-- But it’s not our place-- we’re just guests--”

“Nakamaru.” Ueda stood, placing his hands on his hips and giving him a long look. “Come and help me or I’ll throw you out in the cold.”

And so Nakamaru was threatened into helping, cutting potatoes into small squares, as well as carrots and onions and whatever else Ueda was throwing at him. “I still don’t think this is a good idea,” Nakamaru muttered, but Ueda just hit him with a leek.

“I told you Koki won’t mind. Now, the first step is to throw everything in the pot and turn on the fire to the highest.” Ueda mumbled to himself as he chose the biggest pot available and threw the cut vegetables inside before setting it onto a stove turned on to the highest heat.

Nakamaru stared wide eyed as Ueda went on to cut the leek in his hand before throwing it into the pot. “Erm Ueda, I’m pretty sure the water is supposed to go in fir—”

“Nonsense,” Ueda interrupted. “The vegetables are always supposed to go in first.”

It took roughly about three minutes for Nakamaru to realize that there was a certain crisp smell in the air, as if something was burning. Rushing to the pot, he peered in to see the vegetables turning black around the sides and he hurriedly carried them to the sink to pour water in before any more damage was done.

“What’re you doing?” Ueda asked, tone clipped. “You’ve ruined it.”

“They were--- oh just move aside,” Nakamaru sighed, pushing Ueda to the opposite side of the counter. “I’ll do it.”

Ueda looked a little affronted, the slightest hint of a pout on his face as he watched Nakamaru work. It was a little unnerving, having Ueda’s eyes follow his every movement, but Nakamaru tried to ignore it. Tried to ignore that shiver coursing up his spine.

Nakamaru shrugged it off, pouring all of his concentration into his work, making sure the soup didn’t burn - again. Koki came in halfway, exclaiming happily as he saw what Nakamaru was doing. “Thank you so much,” he sighed, sinking into a nearby chair.

“It was my idea,” Ueda murmured, but there was no real venom to his voice. He was too focused on what Nakamaru was doing, eyes staring at his hands. Nakamaru coughed.

“What, is my staring making you nervous?” Ueda asked and Nakamaru was very sure he could hear a smirk in the question.

“No, of course I’m not nervous.” Nakamaru mumbled as he peered down at the pot again to check if the soup was boiling yet. There was no need to let Ueda know that yes, his staring was indeed making Nakamaru just a little bit nervous.

“Hmm, whatever you say,” Ueda said as he went to sit beside Koki. “Just be sure that whatever comes out of that pot later is edible. I meant it when I said that I was hungry.”

Nakamaru rolled his eyes as he stirred to soup to ensure that it was evenly heated. He used to double up as the cook’s assistant when he worked at the café, so he was pretty confident that he could at least whip up a simple soup.

The table had been set - by who, Nakamaru didn’t know - and once the soup was done, the other two helped Nakamaru carry the pots over, setting them right in the middle. Koki groaned when he tasted it, seemingly unable to speak for a while as he chewed. Nakamaru tried to hide his pride, suppressing his smile, but by the way Ueda was looking at him he knew he had failed.

“This is good, Nakamaru,” Ueda remarked, chewing slowly. Koki nodded, and Nakamaru just gave a shy smile.

“Thank you, I--”

“Nakamaru!” Ueda cried suddenly, slamming his hands onto the table and causing the other two to jump.

“What?” Nakamaru asked, wide-eyed, eyes scanning Ueda’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Tat-chan?”

Ueda looked upset and a little disappointed as he slowly calmed down, averting his gaze. “I just-- I just remembered that we forgot to visit that candy store.”

“The... the what?” Nakamaru furrowed his eyebrows, thinking back as far as he could. “I can’t--”

“The candy store, back in Kame’s world,” Ueda explained, busying himself with the soup in front of him. “I promised that we’d go back in the morning, but...”

Oh. Nakamaru remembered now. “That’s okay,” he said, smiling. “We’ll just have to go another day.”

Ueda looked up, surprised. “...Yeah. Yeah, we will.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Koki interrupted, “But I just want to tell you that I think I’ll have to steal Nakamaru to be my personal chef.”

“You will do no such thing,” Ueda snapped, and Koki recoiled a little.

“It was just a joke...”

“Oh,” Ueda muttered, “Oh, I see.” His mouth opened a little and closed when nothing came out. Nakamaru watched as Ueda leaned forward and busied himself again with his bowl of soup. There was the faintest tinge of pink on his cheeks.

Koki gave a little cough, “So would you guys still stay over tomorrow or will you be heading out already?” Nakamaru turned to Ueda but the guy was still busy drinking his soup. It didn’t look like he was going to answer Koki’s question anytime soon.

“I think we’ll be setting off tomorrow. This Angel Hawkweed that Ueda’s looking for seems pretty important.” Nakamaru answered for the both of them.

“Very important.” Ueda asserted, raising his head from his soup to look at the both of them in turn. It seemed like he had gotten over his disappointment over not visiting the candy store in Kame’s world already. “And yes, we’ll be setting off tomorrow so I think an early night would be good for the both of us.”

Koki just had a fold-out sofa for them to use. He had made it as nicely as he could, apologising for the state of it - “The left side squeaks a lot so make sure to stay off that side” - but it was okay, Nakamaru supposed. Koki refused to let either of them sleep on the floor though, so they had to share, staying as far away from each other as they could.

Nakamaru got the squeaky side.

He didn’t get much sleep.

 

***

  
Nakamaru was awake before Ueda the next morning. He turned around, pulling a face at the obnoxious squeak the bed made as he did so. Ueda was fast asleep next to him, looking rather innocent as he slept. Once again, Nakamaru was taken aback by Ueda’s beauty, a rather ethereal beauty that seemed to capture him and make his stomach twist in knots.

But then Ueda was stirring and Nakamaru shot up, toppling out of the bed with a small cry as he did so. “...Maru?” Ueda called, voice slurred with sleep, “You ‘kay?”

“Yep. I’m fine,” Nakamaru said from the floor, hitting himself in the head.

Just then Koki poked his head through the door and smiled when he found that they were both already awake.

“Good morning, you two!” he greeted them a little too brightly. Nakamaru turned to look at the cuckoo clock that hung on the wall above Koki’s head; it was only seven forty five in the morning. Both Ueda and he mumbled back a semblance of a greeting before taking their time to get out of bed – or in Nakamaru’s case, up from the floor.

“I’ve prepared breakfast for you two—” Both Ueda and Nakamaru perked up at the word ‘breakfast’ and in record time, they freshened up and were already sitting at the dining table.

Koki chuckled as he carefully placed a steaming pot in the middle. It turned out he had prepared oats porridge with honey drizzled on top, and Nakamaru’s stomach made an appreciative grumble as Koki helped to serve them their breakfast.

It was warm and sweet, and Nakamaru groaned a little at the taste. Ueda made a similar noise from across the table, and Koki smiled widely, looking all too proud of himself. “Glad you like it,” he sang.

They decided to leave early, weighted down with bags of bread rolls and cookies for the road. “It’s not that far to Junno’s,” Ueda said, trying to give back the food. “We’re not going to starve.”

“You never know,” Koki argued, pushing the bags into Nakamaru’s hands this time. “Make sure he eats,” he said, to Nakamaru. “Sometimes he forgets. And be sure to get enough sleep, and don’t let him teleport twice in one day - you _know_ it gives you headaches, don’t look at me like that--”

“I will, thank you,” Nakamaru said, bowing a little, wary of the way Ueda was glaring at Koki.

Taking Nakamaru by the wrist, Ueda waved to Koki with his other hand and Nakamaru barely had time to say his goodbyes before he was hurriedly dragged out of the door.

Once they reached the outskirts of Koki’s field, Ueda slowed down and released his grip on Nakamaru’s hand.

“I’m sorry,” Ueda said while consulting his map. “But if I hadn’t done that, it would take another hour before Koki ever let us leave his house.”

Nakamaru shook his head and smiled; he understood why Koki was so worried about his friend. He was slowly finding out that it was hard _not_ to worry about him.

“Take my hand.”

And they were flying again, colours flashing before his eyes so fast that Nakamaru had to close them tightly. He felt Ueda’s hand grip his tighter; he felt dizzy and his head was fuzzy, and they were now falling, down and down until Nakamaru felt the ground under his feet, and he crumpled to the floor, dragging Ueda down with him.

“We’re here?” Nakamaru asked, blinking a little as he sat up. Ueda nodded, pulling Nakamaru up.

They had landed on a carpet this time. A rich red carpet. Nakamaru stared down at it blankly.

They were in someone’s house.

“It’s funny that the people who live here are never actually home when I teleport,” Ueda commented, and Nakamaru turned his gaze to him.

“People _live_ here?” he squeaked. Ueda just nodded, albeit a little distractedly.

It turned out that the person living here was indeed Junno and that he was still out in the marketplace, selling the art pieces he drew.

“He’s an artist?” Nakamaru asked while studying the paintings that hung on the wall.

“The best I know.” Ueda answered and Nakamaru noticed a certain pride in his voice when he said that.

At the end of the corridor, Nakamaru found a particular painting that caught his eye. Warm colours had been used for this painting, from the crimson of the ruffled shirt to the copper coloured hair of the man in the painting. The man seemed familiar somehow, the name of this person on the tip of Nakamaru’s tongue.

Without turning back to Ueda, Nakamaru shouted across the corridor, “Hey! Do you happen to know—”

Just then the door in the living room clicked open and Nakamaru had forgone asking his question in place of going out to greet their host.

“Hey Junno,” Ueda said casually, and Junno looked up from taking his shoes off.

“Oh. Hey, Uepi,” he said, like it was completely normal to have two people just appear in his house. “You have a friend!” he added, his face lighting up as he saw Nakamaru, who was trying to go unnoticed behind Ueda.

“This is Nakamaru. Nakamaru, this is Junno,” Ueda said. “And you don’t have to be so surprised that I’ve got friends,” he added, but Junno just laughed. “What? I have a few!”

“Okay,” was all Junno said, moving past both of them and into the kitchen. “Have you had breakfast?”

“Yeah, Koki--”

“Say no more,” Junno laughed. “I understand.”

Junno was tall. Very tall. So tall, in fact, that he had to duck his head when he walked through doorways. His hair was also at fault, because it was spiked up into a kind of mohawk. He had a kind face, with an ever-present smile. His deep-brown eyes seemed to dance when he laughed, and Nakamaru warmed to him right away.

After some more formalities were exchanged, Junno asked them to sit on his couch whilst he prepared some tea for them.

“I don’t think you’re here to commission a painting for me.” Junno smiled as he laid out the china and poured steaming hot tea into them. “So what’re you here for?”

Nakamaru carefully held his cup of tea by the handle and gently blew in it before taking a small sip. Beside him, Ueda was explaining to Junno about his search for the elusive Angel Hawkweed.

“So do you have it with you?” Ueda asked at the end of his explanation. Junno leaned back into his chair and frowned as he tried to think. Nakamaru could feel both Ueda and himself holding their breath whilst waiting for Junno’s answer.

“Not that I can remember,” Junno said, clucking his tongue a little. Nakamaru felt his heart sink a little. Ueda sighed.

“Darn it.”

“You’ve run out again?” Junno asked. “You always do.”

Ueda rolled his eyes. “It’s a crucial ingredient--”

Junno waved a hand. “I know, I know. But really, Uepi, I don’t have any here at all. If you had come a few months ago I would have had some, but I used my last few plants on a painting.”

“Your... paintings?” Nakamaru asked, raising an eyebrow.

“The Angel Hawksweed is good as a textural thing for paintings,” Junno explained, smiling widely. “Once you crush the seeds, you just mix it into the paint, but I used the last of it.”

Ueda heaved a soft sigh as he leaned back and silently sipped the rest of his tea. Nakamaru saw his shoulders drop a little and, without too much thought, he placed a hand on Ueda’s shoulders and gently rubbed it.

Ueda jumped a little in his seat and turned to him; there was a wry smile on his face that made Nakamaru’s heart sink a little bit more. He mouthed a ‘thank you’ and squeezed Nakamaru’s hand with his own. Not knowing what to do, Nakamaru just left his hand there on Ueda’s shoulder till he could see Junno squinting at them with a weird grin on his face.

“We’ve been looking everywhere,” Ueda said. “I don’t know where to go next.”

“Well, you can stay here for a while until you find another place to go to,” Junno said, his eyes crinkling as he smiled. “I’ve got enough room-- just let me clear the spare room of those paintings,” he added, standing up to leave the room. “I’ll be back soon!”

And so the two sat there, staring into their teacups. “What are we going to do?” Ueda murmured, more to himself than to Nakamaru, but the other still heard him. “I don’t know... I don’t know what to do...”

It was funny; Nakamaru was always the person who gave up too easily, or the one to just sigh and say ‘it’s over’. But now he found himself standing in front of Ueda, looking down at him as this overwhelming emotion flooded through him.

“You can’t give up,” Nakamaru heard himself say. Ueda blinked at him. “You can’t. We’ve come all this way. I don’t even _know_ how far I am from home but I don’t care. You can’t just stop this journey here.”

“It’s okay,” Ueda muttered with a smile that did not look all that convincing. “It’s oka—”

“No, it’s not okay,” Nakamaru interrupted and he could see Ueda’s eyes widen a little. “We’ve both come this far, we can’t just stop here.”

Ueda had turned to face him while Nakamaru had been giving his speech. He might have been imagining it but he thought he could see Ueda’s shoulders picking up, his smile a little bit brighter than it had been just moments before.

“And you never know,” he continued. “We might just find the Angel Hawkweed at the next location you’ll teleport us to. So let’s keep loo—”

And then Ueda was standing, knocking his teacup to the ground and grabbing Nakamaru’s face between his hands, kissing him breathlessly. Nakamaru froze, staring wide-eyed as Ueda pulled away, his heart beating hard against his chest.

“Wh-- What?” was all Nakamaru could say, his emotions all battling for his attention at the same time.

“I kissed you,” Ueda said, his hands still on Nakamaru’s cheeks. “I kissed you.” He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself that he had, in fact, kissed Nakamaru. “...I kissed you.”

“Yeah, you kind of did,” Nakamaru murmured, a little worried as to why he wasn’t feeling like this was a particularly bad thing.

“This wasn’t how it was meant to go,” Ueda whispered, his eyes shining. “This wasn’t meant to happen.”

Maybe it wasn’t meant to happen. But right now, Nakamaru didn’t care about what was ‘meant’ to happen.

He kissed him again.

 

  
***

Nakamaru moaned a little as the caramel candy he had just bought melted the moment he placed it on his tongue.

Beside him, he could see Ueda giving him a proud little smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest and said, “Told you their candies were good.”

They had left Junno’s house only a day after they had arrived, much to Junno’s disappointment, but in the end he had sent them off with warm wishes and a promise to paint the both of them the next time they paid him a visit. They in turn promised to tell Kame he said hello.

“So,” Nakamaru asked as he stirred the cup of hot chocolate in front of him. “What now?”

“The only thing we can do,” Ueda said as he leaned over and took a sip out of Nakamaru’s hot chocolate. “We move on.”

 

_Epilogue_

 

“So,” Nakamaru started, walking down the stone path aimlessly, “What was that plant for, anyway?”

“Hmm?” Ueda asked, sucking on the end of a small spoon, trying to get the last bits of sherbet from the tiny packet he had just bought.

Nakamaru hummed. “You never really told me what the Angel Hawkweed was _for_ ,” he said, chewing on the corner of some kind of peanut brittle cautiously.

“Oh that,” Ueda said, waving a hand. “I use it in a potion to regrow my hair.”

Nakamaru stopped dead in his tracks. “...What?”

Ueda kept walking for a while until he realised that Nakamaru wasn’t following him. “What’s wrong? Tummy ache? I _told_ you not to eat so fast--”

“You’ve dragged me from one place to another until I can’t tell up from down. You had me thinking that you were going to _die_ if we didn’t get this plant, Ueda!” Nakamaru all but shouted. Ueda furrowed his eyebrows and walked towards him.

“Why would you think I was going to die?” Ueda asked softly.

“You said it was a matter of life and death!”

“Did I? I’m sorry...” Ueda said; then he added, “Is that why you kissed me back? Because you thought I was going to die?”

Wait, what? “...Eh?” Nakamaru almost shrieked, dropping his peanut brittle. “Why did you-- What-- Oh, you stupid, confusing, _infuriating_ man--”

Nakamaru stepped forward and pressed an almost desperate kiss to Ueda’s lips. “I didn’t kiss you because of that,” he murmured against his lips. “I kissed you because you’re-- well-- because you’re _you_ ,” Nakamaru finished, shaking his head a little. “You’re annoying and impossible, but I kind of want to figure you out.”

Ueda beamed, his eyes sparkling. “Maybe I want you to figure me out.”

 

 

\--the end

 

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